Florida HB 115: Social Media Ban, Verification, and Enforcement

Florida’s social media ban for kids under 14 is real, but its bill number is not HB 115. The restriction was enacted as HB 3 in March 2024 and codified at Florida Statute 501.1736. HB 115 from the 2025 session dealt with clinical laboratory personnel and never became law.¹ Under the actual statute, qualifying social media platforms cannot let anyone under 14 hold an account at all, and 14- and 15-year-olds need a parent’s or legal guardian’s consent to sign up. As of November 2025, the state can enforce the law while a constitutional challenge continues on appeal.

What the Law Requires by Age

The rules break cleanly into two groups.

Children under 14 are simply barred from holding accounts on covered platforms.¹ Parental permission does not change that. If a platform finds an existing account belongs to someone under 14, it must start the termination process and give the account holder 90 days to dispute the finding before shutting the account down.² After termination, the platform must permanently delete the personal information tied to the account unless another law requires keeping specific records.

Teens who are 14 or 15 can have accounts, but only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.¹ Without that consent, the platform must treat the account the same way it treats an under-14 account: begin termination, allow a 90-day dispute period, and delete the personal information if the account is closed.²

Both age groups have the right to trigger account closure directly. If the minor asks the platform to close the account, the platform has five business days to do it. If the parent or guardian asks, the deadline is 10 business days.²

The statute does not spell out exactly what parental consent has to look like. It is tied in practice to the age verification system every covered platform must run at signup.

Which Platforms Are Covered

Not every app or website falls under the law. A platform is covered only if it meets all four of these tests at once:

It lets users upload content or see other users’ activity.
At least 10 percent of its daily active users under 16 spend an average of two or more hours a day on it.
It uses algorithms that analyze user data to decide what content to show.
It includes at least one feature the law calls addictive.

The addictive features listed in the statute are infinite scrolling, push notifications, interactive metrics (likes, reactions, share counts), auto-play video, and live-streaming.¹ A platform only needs one of those features to check the box, but it still has to hit all four criteria to be regulated.

Tools built solely for email or private direct messaging between specific people are explicitly excluded.¹ There is no separate carve-out for news, sports, or streaming entertainment. If a service meets all four criteria, it is covered whatever its subject matter.

How Age Verification Works

Every covered platform must verify the age of new account holders at signup. It must offer an anonymous verification method, and it may additionally offer a standard non-anonymous method; if both are available, the user picks.³ If the user fails to verify, the account is denied.

Anonymous verification has to be done by an independent, non-governmental company organized under the laws of a U.S. state, with its principal place of business in the United States, and not owned or controlled by a foreign entity.³

Data-handling rules apply to whoever runs the check:

Personal information used for verification cannot be kept after the check is complete.
It cannot be repurposed, sold, or used for anything other than confirming age.
The verification provider cannot share it with the social media platform or anyone else.
The provider must maintain reasonable security practices to protect it.

Penalties and Private Lawsuits

A platform that knowingly or recklessly violates the account restrictions or age verification rules commits an unfair and deceptive trade practice under Florida law. The Department of Legal Affairs, which is the Attorney General’s office, is the sole government enforcer.²

The department can collect up to $50,000 per violation plus attorney fees and court costs. If the platform shows a consistent pattern of knowing or reckless noncompliance, punitive damages can also be assessed.²

A minor account holder, or someone acting on the minor’s behalf, can also sue a platform that knowingly or recklessly violated their rights. Courts can award up to $10,000 in damages plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees. The lawsuit has to be filed within one year of when the violation was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.²

The “knowing or reckless” standard is doing real work here. A platform that tries in good faith to comply but is defeated by a convincing fake birthday is not in the same position as one that ignores the rules. The statute is not strict liability.

Is the Law Actually Being Enforced Right Now

Yes, at the moment. But the picture has shifted more than once.

Two trade groups, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, sued to block the law shortly after passage. In June 2025, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction stopping enforcement.⁴

In November 2025, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to stay that injunction while the appeal proceeds. Florida can enforce the law now, even as the underlying constitutional challenge continues.⁴ The industry challengers argue the law violates the First Amendment, and that argument has succeeded against similar laws in other states, so the final outcome is not settled.

The Companion Law for Younger Kids Online

Statute 501.1736 does not cover everything Florida does about children online. A companion statute, 501.1735, applies more broadly to any online platform likely to be used primarily by children, not just those meeting the social media definition. It prohibits processing a child’s personal information in ways that could cause substantial harm, including promoting self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, or predatory marketing.⁵

The companion law also bans the use of “dark patterns” to manipulate children into giving up personal information, disabling privacy protections, or taking other actions that could harm them. Where 501.1736 keeps underage users off certain platforms, 501.1735 governs how platforms treat the children who are on them.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 501.1736 – Social Media Use for Minors
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 501.1736 – Social Media Use for Minors
3
Florida Senate. Florida Senate Bill Amendment – Section 501.1738
4
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. CCIA NetChoice v Uthmeier – Eleventh Circuit Ruling
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 501.1735 – Protection of Children in Online Spaces